Chapter 167
Aurora really liked Joshua.
She took the initiative to lean her little face forward for Joshua to touch, her big dark eyes blinking - she looked especially adorable.
Joshua touched Aurora's soft, warm little face, watching her alive right there in front of him.
A surge of emotion suddenly welled up in his heart, making his eyes water.
When Aurora saw Joshua crying, she felt bad and wiped his tears for him.
"Daddy, don't cry. Aurora is here. Aurora and Mommy will always be with Daddy."
Joshua tried hard to control his emotions and responded to his child with a light laugh.
"Okay, Daddy won't cry."
Nearby, Ella had prepared a towel and basin and reminded Aurora.
"Aurora, take out your homework and do it."
Aurora was in first grade now. She wasn't as smart as Dorian, who had already finished his homework in class.
Worried that they'd get home too late and Aurora wouldn't have time to write, she had to remind her now.
Aurora was obedient. She stood on her tiptoes, kissed her daddy, and said softly, "Daddy, you rest well. I'll do my homework right here."
Joshua agreed. When he saw Ella come over and pull back the blanket covering him, as if to help him wash up, he felt a bit embarrassed.
His ears turned completely red.
"You..." He opened his mouth to refuse, but couldn't bear to.
Ella ignored him and, as she had done before, carefully wiped every inch of his body.
This behavior really made Joshua uncomfortable.
In his mind, Ella was Zachary's wife.
How could she do this for him?
Wasn't she afraid Zachary would be jealous or mind?
He couldn't hold back in the end and spoke up, "Ella, you don't have to do this. I can have Samuel help me later."
Before Ella could say anything, Aurora, who was sitting nearby doing homework, looked up and said sweetly, "Daddy, it's okay. Mommy has been wiping you down for three years. When you get better, you have to treat Mommy well."
However, these words deeply shocked Joshua.
He looked at Ella, somewhat incredulous. "You've been helping me for three years?"
How could that be?
Didn't Ella always hate him?
Even if Aurora came back alive, it couldn't have completely dissolved the hatred in her heart, making her willing to come take care of him for three years.
So what exactly happened during these three years?
Ella reminded Aurora, "Aurora, do your homework properly, no getting distracted."
Aurora pouted and went back to her homework.
She looked at Joshua, "Don't overthink it. I've always felt guilty about Grandpa's death, and you're his only grandson. Just consider it repayment for how good he was to me."
As for Joshua, she no longer had any extra thoughts.
Forgiving him only meant allowing him to raise Aurora and Dorian together with her, letting them grow up with both a father's and mother's love.
That was all.
Joshua didn't say more.
But he still had many questions in his heart.
He just looked at Ella with longing and greed as she wiped him down.
After wiping, she massaged him.
This hands-on behavior made him mistakenly feel that Ella was still his wife.
That Ella had feelings for him, which was why she did everything herself.
But thinking about how Ella and Zachary were already married, he kept reminding himself not to have foolish hopes.
And not to do anything to hurt Ella and the children again.
Ella helping him was a favor.
He didn't need to guess at her motives for doing this.
Pushing away those messy thoughts, looking at Ella's obviously more mature and charming appearance, Joshua felt ripples stirring in his heart.
He really hadn't expected that during the three years he was unconscious, Ella came every day to help him like this.
How could he repay this kindness?
After Ella finished her work, two hours had passed.
Aurora had fallen asleep at the table again.
She tucked Joshua in, picked up Aurora, and rested her on her shoulder, preparing to leave.
"Rest well. I'll bring Aurora to see you again tomorrow."
Joshua knew Ella was tired and didn't try to keep her. He nodded in agreement.
He watched Ella leave, carrying Aurora. When Samuel came over, he asked, "Can you tell me what exactly happened these three years? Has Ella been coming to massage me all along?"
Samuel pulled up a chair and sat down. Seeing that his condition had improved a lot, he patiently explained slowly.
"Yes, for three years, Ella came every day to wash and massage you. If it weren't for her and Aurora, I can guarantee you wouldn't have woken up."
Joshua's miraculous awakening was really all thanks to Ella and the child.
He just hoped this man would treat the three of them well from now on!
Joshua was very moved.
He hadn't expected that despite Ella's cold words.
Despite how cold she seemed toward him normally, how hurtful her words were.
At critical moments, she could always give without reservation.
He asked again, "She came to help me every day, and Zachary didn't mind?"
Samuel laughed, "Mind what? They divorced three years ago. Three years ago, Zachary also went back to Eldoria and never came back."
Joshua was shocked.
Ella and Zachary divorced?
Was it because of him?
At this moment, he felt an indescribable happiness.
He felt that now that Ella was divorced, he had a chance.
Samuel continued, "Mason also got married. His child is already two years old."
"After you get better, remember to give them a gift."
Joshua didn't care about Mason's affairs.
A gift was a small matter.
He was very happy now.
Thinking that without Zachary, he would prepare a big villa for Aurora and Dorian, and later bring the children to live in the villa. Ella would definitely come too.
Then wouldn't their family of four be able to be together forever?
Joshua's thoughts were wonderful. He had Samuel call Brian over - he would have Brian make the arrangements right away.
The Lewis family.
After Ella came back carrying Aurora, following Rhea's words, she went upstairs to call Vida down for dinner.
When she arrived, she saw Vida secretly wiping away tears again.
The two-year-old child was lying on her leg, trying to comfort Vida.
Because he was too young and his speech wasn't clear, in the end, he could only say things like "Mommy don't cry" and make soothing sounds.
Ella's heart ached watching this. She walked in and spoke up, "Vida."
When Vida saw Ella, she hurriedly wiped away the tears and picked up the child with a forced smile.
"Ella, you're back from work."
Ella asked her, "Mason didn't come home again today?"
Vida didn't deny it.
Holding the child in her arms, she tried to avoid eye contact as much as possible, not wanting others to know she had been crying.
Just then, the phone beside her lit up.
Ella clearly saw a line of text flash on the phone screen, from an unknown number.
"The person Mason loves is me. If I were you, I'd divorce him already."
Ella felt a bit dazed.
She couldn't believe what she was seeing.
What did this mean?
Was Mason having an affair?
She picked up the phone and handed it to Vida. "Mason, who is this person?"
When Vida saw Ella take the phone, and the other person sent another message to provoke her, she quickly took the phone back and shook her head. "It's nothing."
"Who is she?" Ella pressed.
Vida felt extremely wronged. She put the child down on the floor and let him go downstairs for dinner first.
She tried hard to adjust her emotions and, facing Ella, told the truth, "Some woman somehow got my contact information. Every day she sends me photos of her with Mason, constantly provoking me, telling me to divorce your brother."
"Ella, do you think I should trust Mason?"
Ella took the phone and had Vida unlock the screen, then opened the message thread.
There were indeed photos sent by the other party.
She zoomed in to look.
Looking at this, Ella froze.
The person in the photo - how did she look exactly like Scarlett?
She wasn't sure, so she stared carefully at the details.
Finally, she confirmed that the person in the photo did look the same as Scarlett, but there were differences.
The other person had a teardrop mole at the corner of her eye; Scarlett didn't.
And this person looked much younger than Scarlett.
So they definitely weren't the same person.
Looking at the messages the other person sent to Vida, they were all provocative words.
Those photos, together with Mason, were even more unbearable to look at.
Ella's blood pressure shot up. She wrote down the other person's number, looked at Vida, "Vida, it's okay. Let's go meet her."
Mason really was hopeless.
Did he love Scarlett that much?
Loved her so much that even after Scarlett died, he went to great lengths to find a woman who looked just like Scarlett to comfort his heart.
How could such a thoroughly rotten man deserve to be her brother?
Ella hugged Vida and comforted her, "If what happened between her and Mason is true, you divorce Mason and make him leave with nothing."
Vida knew the matter must be true. She lowered her head and wiped away tears.
"But the baby is still so young. He can't be without a father."
"Why can't he be without a father?" Ella was so angry that her face changed color.
"Aurora and Dorian have gone all these years without their father by their side, and they've done just fine."
"Someone like Mason doesn't deserve to be a husband or father at all. Let's first get evidence of his affair during marriage, and once we have it, we'll file for divorce immediately."
In this marriage, she knew how humble Vida had been by Mason's side.
For three years, Vida had conscientiously done her duty. She was clearly a young lady who grew up surrounded by love.
But after coming to their family, she didn't hesitate to learn cooking for Mason, do laundry, and take care of his daily needs.
After having a child, she spent every day and night holding the baby, alone in an empty room.
Back then, Ella thought Mason didn't love Vida and didn't want to spend time with her.
That the couple might need a few more years to develop feelings.
But now Mason was actually having an affair.
Even if Vida could tolerate this, Ella couldn't.
Vida kept her head down, clearly still reluctant to end this marriage.
She loved Mason very much.
Even if Mason didn't have her in his heart, she didn't care. She thought that as long as she could see him every day, she would be satisfied.
But now, Mason had someone else.
Vida felt like her heart was being torn into countless pieces. The heart-wrenching feeling was really hard for her to bear.
Ella wiped the tears from her face.
"It's okay. He's just a man. Life without him can still be good."
"Let's go eat now. Let's not tell Mom and Dad about this yet. Once I get the evidence, we'll let them deal with him."
She took Vida's hand and went downstairs to eat.
Vida tried as hard as she could to control her emotions and looked at Ella.
She never knew that in this family, Ella was the one who gave her the most support.
She should have some backbone and not disappoint Ella.
In the dining room, it was full of people, with only Mason absent.
Heath's face was stern as he gestured to Vida, "Call him and tell him to come back."
Mason had been getting more and more out of line lately. Occasionally, he came back and treated the house like a hotel, then didn't come back for days.
Leaving them like orphans and widows, not caring at all.
Rhea also said, "Mason is going too far. If he doesn't come back, he shouldn't come back ever again."
Vida kept her head down and said nothing.
No one knew that Mason had already blocked her.
When he came back yesterday, he also warned her not to complain to the family, or he would never come back to this house.
After hearing Ella's words just now, she felt that she should go confirm the affair.
Get the evidence and then set Mason free.
"Dad, Mom, why bother with him? Let's eat. It's better if he doesn't come back."
Ella served Vida some food and told her not to worry about it.
Seeing the three children nearby, Heath and Rhea softened their expressions and didn't say more.
Early the next morning.
After Ella personally drove the children to school, she took Vida to meet Mason's woman.
They arranged to meet at a coffee shop.
Not long after they sat down, the woman who looked extremely similar to Scarlett arrived.
She was wearing designer brands from head to toe, stepping in seven-centimeter high heels, carrying a bag worth $100,000.
Even though she was surrounded by luxury brands, it couldn't hide the vulgarity that came from her bones.
Looking at her, people could tell that her temperament didn't match all those designer items.
In contrast, Vida had been a full-time wife for three years. She just changed into casual clothes, did her hair, put on light makeup, and her natural elegance made people see at a glance that she was graceful and had good taste.
The woman sat down across from Ella and Vida, putting on an arrogant attitude with a mocking smile.
"You even brought someone with you. Aren't you afraid of being laughed at?"
Ella held back her temper, turned on the recorder under the table, and led the other person to talk, "How long have you been with Mason? All these things on you - Mason bought them for you, right?"
Opal Reed deliberately placed her $100,000 bag on the table, smiling proudly, "Yes, Mason bought it for me. We've been together for a year. He not only bought me this, but also bought me a house and a car. Mason also said that once I graduate from college, we'll get married."
"So if I were you, I would have taken the initiative to divorce him long ago."
She looked at Vida, shameless and proud.
Ella heard this through gritted teeth, her fists unconsciously clenching.
This person was actually a college student.
Seeing Vida unable to hold back her anger, she tugged at Vida to calm her down and continued asking, "Which school are you at?"
Opal laughed, "Why should I tell you? So you can go make a scene if I tell you?"
Ella also smiled, but her eyes were cold as ice. "You think if you don't tell me, I can't find out?"
Opal didn't care. "There are so many universities in the country. Go ahead and investigate if you can. I came to meet you today because I'm not afraid of you investigating. Mason will protect me anyway."
She looked at Vida again. "I'm so young and beautiful. What do you have to compete with me?"